Nov 13, 2012

Super Crate Box Review

When I first saw the name Super Crate Box it was actually on the Apple App Store. I was searching for some free games to play and downloading Super Crate Box seemed like a good place to start. Little did I know however that the game would become an instant love of mine. Once I saw that it was also free on PC my love of SCB only grew. With SCB's addicting chiptune soundtrack, interesting game mechanics, and 2D retro art style, I felt like I was in an old arcade with a classic that I never got the chance to experience.

One of the most amazing things about the game is just how simple it is. Enemies fall from the top of the screen and continue descending down multiple platforms until they reach the pit of fire at the bottom and incinerate. The player's job in the game is to simply collect crates that spawn randomly across the map. Only one crate can be present at a time so you must try and collect one after the other while dodging the enemies.

The enemies come in five different variations. The first is a small green skull-looking thing that moves at normal speed and sometimes moves with lines of 3-5 other small green skulls. There is also a red version of this skull which moves at three times the speed but travels on its own. For each of these different colored skulls there is a larger variation that have the same properties but take a larger portion of the screen up and tend to be harder to kill. Finally, there is a flying enemy that takes its time descending to the bottom of the screen. It is also a skull-looking figure as small as the first enemies and can be rather annoying, as it can get in the way of your jumping dodges and can end your crate collecting streaks.

Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "What makes this game fun if you have an infinite amount of enemies and the only point of the game is to collect crates?" This is where the game shines. In each of the crates is a random weapon which you can use to fight your way to the next crate. The weapons are really fun to mess around with, and range from a katana to a laser rifle. Some weapons are even so powerful that you don't even have to move to obliterate anything on screen. So why go for the next crate if you can survive without it? Collecting crates earns you rewards. If you collect a certain number of crates in a row without dying you will be rewarded with new levels, characters, and game modes. Also, just by collecting crates you unlock more weapons to play with going from a plain pistol to unlocking mines, disk shooters and grenade launchers.

Final Say: If I was going to condense my experience with Super Crate Box I would have to sum it up like this: loads of guns, lots of fun, and a never ending stream of bad guys all for the price of absolutely nothing.